Fused
by SwanInProgress
Summary: Nichole was just your average, teenage slacker. Until she accidentally stumbled upon a battle between Optimus Prime and Megatron. Now the Decepticons are after her... because she's fused to their leader! Animated Universe.
1. Chapter 1

**Yeah, I know. The summary was awful. **

**I do not own Transformers Animated or any of the characters. I only own Nichole, Ethan, and their mom. Dat's it. **

Part I

Our English teacher had taken us to the school library for research. The papers we had to do weren't supposed to be turned in until the month after that, but not everyone is a procrastinator like me. So, unlike me, everyone got on the computers and began looking up their topics. I, on the other hand, just pulled up Google to make it look like I was doing something. I then brought out my notebook and began to doodle...

About half an hour later, the most annoying sound rang through everyone's ears.

Fire alarm.

The students immediately began talking, wondering if it was just a drill or not. There had been no warning given by the principal, so there must have been a real fire. No one can help but be excited when this happens, because there are so many questions involved. Who started it? How close is it? Is our school going to burn down? Will these kids walk fast enough for me to get out? The list goes on.

It was a short walk to the library doors where the students all squeezed through. Apparently nobody knew the maximum occupancy of a door frame.

Our school was located towards the outskirts of town, near the forest. The library was a separate building, connected to the main one, and when you stepped out the exit door, you were standing next to bushes that marked the forest's beginning.

So, for a while, the class just stood there, talking amongst themselves as the teacher took attendance, making sure no one was still in the building. I fiddled with my hair clip, trying to make it stay in place. The stupid thing had been moving around all day and, quite frankly, it was pissing me off. I could have taken it out, yes, but I had chosen to be oddly stubborn instead and my fingers wound up slipping and the clippy fell to the ground.

I mumbled angrily as I threw my head back and glared at the clouds for a minute. Eventually, I decided I'd pick up the clippy and stuff it in my pocket, but when I bent over to do this, it wasn't beside my feet anymore. Confused, I looked around. Where the crap did it go...?

That's when I spotted a rabbit, holding a particularly familiar hair piece in its mouth. What kind of a rabbit takes someone's hairclip? As soon as I met its liquid eyes, though, the thing bolted into the forest. Ignoring the fact that we weren't supposed to go in that area, I chased after the cottontail. It wasn't as if it were dangerous in there, just that kids often got lost. That wasn't a problem for me, though, because I went back in there all the time and knew it like the back of my hand.

Well... almost...

"Aw, son of a..." I growled when the rabbit hopped down a hole. It was tempting to find a tree branch and jam it down there, but that was pretty mean for just a hairclip. Oh well, it wasn't a big deal. I just wanted an excuse to get outta that boring fire drill. Being stuck in a forest was much more fun. Yeah, yeah, call me a weirdo for not wanting to see my school burn down.

But I wouldn't trade a _million_ burning schools for what I saw next.

First, there was this weird, shaking? I'm not sure how to describe it, but before I could even fully register that noise, an even louder one erupted, scaring me enough to make me close my eyes. It was too close for comfort and all the noise was making me freak out, but, like the weirdo I am, I kept my eyes tightly shut, and my hands on my ears.

When I opened them... I was in for the shock of my life.

Of course I'd seen them on the news before. They were heroes in Detroit, the Autobots. Seeing one up close though was... much more overwhelming. Especially since he looked as if he'd been in a fight and all the trees were flattened where he lay. Once again, from the news, I was guessing it was Optimus Prime.

And from the news I was also guessing that the thing flying towards him at an alarming pace was a Decepticon. A rather large and mean looking one at that.

"Yo! Autobot, wake up!" I shouted at the unconscious looking Optimus. When he didn't respond, I gave his shoulder a little kick. "Wakey, Wakey or you're gonna die!"

His optics opened slightly, but not enough to convince me he could stop the Decepticon's charge. That thought made me look to see how close it was and immediately my heart jumped into my throat.

A gun. A big, cannon gun, pointed right at the Autobot. And guess who was standing right beside the Autobot like and idiot?

Yeah.

That'd be me.

Realizing it was pretty much too late to save either of our tails, I closed my eyes again as I ducked into a fetal position...

And was suddenly swept off the ground by a giant metal hand, just as the explosion sounded.

"Hold on tight!" Optimuse said. What the hell did he _think_ I was doing? The freakin' Chicken Dance? And what was with him deciding to leap away at the last possible second? Was he _trying_ to give me a heart attack?

An eardrum-bustingly loud explosion shattered a tree right next to us, pieces of wood scratching my face and bringing me from my angry thoughts. It was enough to make me realize something important.

"Hey! We've got to turn around!" I yelled over the noise. "You're heading right for the school!"

It was like he had brakes on his feet, (which he possibly did), when he turned sharply in another direction. My stomach lurched slightly and I groaned. Why oh _why_ did motion-sickness have to come around at the worst moments?

Another blast went off, but this time Optimus couldn't dodge it, and of course it _had_ to hit the arm he was carrying _me_ with. I scream briefly before hitting a tree branch and clinging to it like mad. The blast had apparently made his arm have a sling-shot effect. Fun stuff, flying through the air.

Not.

The branch threatened to break under my weight when I climbed all the way onto it, into more of a sitting position that a scared cat. I knew from experience that tree branches couldn't be trusted, so I looked down to see how far of a fall it might be... and wished I hadn't. It was a heck of a lot farther than I'd anticipated. I mentally slapped myself for forgetting how tall these robot guys were.

Guessing the branch would hold for just a little longer, I focused on the fight in front of me. Optimus had brought out some sort of battle ax and was barely managing to hold his own. Now that the Decepticon was on the ground, I could see how much of a size difference there really was. The baddy had to be at least _twice_ his size. Despite this, Optimus managed to land a few really good hits, and I thought he might actually chase him off.

"Hand over the Allspark fragment, Megatron!" Optimus said, swinging the ax up in front of him to block the other bot's retaliation. This went on for a few more moments until, at one point, Optimus hit Megatron squarely in the chest. It had enough force behind it to make the Decepticon fly backwards... and right smack-dab into _my_ tree!

The Autobot made an oops/ohnoes face when he realized that's where I'd been the entire time, and I had the extreme urge to cuss out whoever gave me my _amazing_ good luck that day.

The tree shook like crazy and there were all sorts of cracking and snapping coming from the branches. One branch's snapping in particualar mad me want to cry.

Mine.

I closed my eyes for the millionth time that day as I fell to the—

_Wa-Bam! _

"YEOW!" I unconsciously yelled when I hit metal instead of falling all the way to the ground. I was briefly grateful to still be alive, but then I thought, _Wait... metal?_ And was automatically reminded what hit the tree and made me fall in the first place. Opening my eyes, I found myself laying on the shoulder of the Decepticon, who was glaring right back at me. Now, could you really blame a girl for only being able to lay there with her mouth wide open? If you can, then you're a horrible person who'd obviously never been caught in the middle of a giant robot battle.

Megatron reached up to whack me off of his shoulder, but I scrambled back towards the tree. Some stray branches were still connected and I grabbed at the first one I saw, pulling myself out of harm's way. At least, until that branch decided to break as well. Tree limbs whipped past me, some stopping my fall but then breaking just as fast until, finally, I hit solid forest floor. Bruised, scratched, and about ready to cry, I tried sitting up and winced when I did. Not only from possible broken bones, but when I put my hand down to push myself up, something sharp cut it.

I moved my hand to see what was underneath it and was surprised to see a blue, elongated, diamond-shaped crystal, about the size of my foot. What the hell was something like this doing in the middle of the forest?

It was when a shadow suddenly loomed over me that I got my answer.

"Give me the fragment, human, and I won't have to destroy you," Megatron growled, leaving me quite frightened. In a split-second, Optimus came out of nowhere and slammed into his side, causing them to fall over.

I don't know what matter of insanity made me grab the fragment and run, but something did. So, as Optimus continues fighting Megatron, I sprinted through the forest towards what I felt was the right direction. Don't give me that look. If you don't believe in women's intuition, then that's your problem.

The noises behind me were slowly getting farther away, but at the pace I was going even that was surprising. Seriously. You try falling out of a super tall tree then running. It was a good thing I knew the forest so well, otherwise I'd have never made it out. The trees ended next to the road, and from what I saw, there was nothing coming, so I began to cross...

When a yellow car sped by so fast that my hair flew in front of my eyes. There was the horrible noise of sudden braking and the vehicle came to a sharp halt, right in the middle of the road. Oh, what? Were random road users trying to get me killed, too?

At least, that's what I thought up until the car began shifting and changing into yet _another_ robot. This one I also recognized, but I couldn't remember a name. I'd seen him in the good guy group, or posse, or whatever, and figured this must be an Autobot.

"You guys! I found it!"

_You guys...? _I thought, turning to look down the road. To my surprise, other vehicles were headed towards us. A big green truck of some sort, a gold and black motorcycle, and an ambulance all stopped in front of us and transformed like their friend. Before they could inquire as to how I came across the crystaly-thing, I spoke up.

"You four are buddies of Optimus', right?" I asked, pointing towards the forest. "He's in there fighting Mega-what's-his-face—"

"_Alone?_" the ambulance suddenly burst out. "I thought we told that bot to wait for us!"

Two things happened at once right then— a fighter jet flew overhead towards the direction of the forest, making us look up momentarily, and Optimus was thrown out of the forest, knocking down everyone except me. I thanked the heavens I was so short, otherwise my head would have been knocked off! The group of bots groaned a little, and I began to see if they were okay... Until a _giant foot_ stepped between me and them. A hand, much bigger than Optimus', lifted me off the ground. (Not gently, I might add. If my ribs weren't already broken, they sure as heck were then.)

A giant swarm of curses were buzzing around in my brain, mostly followed by _I'mgonnadie, I'mgonnadie, I'mgonnafuckingDIE._ Panic flared and my only weapon was the stupid fragment that I had idiotically held onto.

There were no witty remarks or insults. I just flat-out stabbed it into Megatron's hand, in the hopes that it woud be able to pierce alien metal. Which it did. And I got the feeling that it hadn't been that hot of an idea. When I put pressure onto the fragment, it cut my hand deeper than it had before and a sickening amount of blood let loose.

I'm not entirely sure what happened after that point. You know the feeling youi get when you just barely touch something and it shocks you? That feeling traveled all the way up my arm, to the rest of my body, and I swear to you, I _felt_ the electricity hit my heart. It was like a thousand tiny needles all shot me at once, then...

...Beeping. Annoying beeping. Just a slow, steady _beep... beep... beep..._ The sound reminded me of a hospital, but seriously, why would they put a dead person in a hospital? I mean, I had to be dead, right?

Then the pain started and I got my answer. I wasn't dead. I was SO not dead, otherwise I don't think I'd have been so sore. No, I was most definitely alive enough to open my eyes and peer around the florescently lit hospital room. Gawd, how I hated anything to do with hospitals.

"Nichole! Honey, she's awake!" I recognized my mom, rushing over from the chair in the corner, and my younger brother, Ethan, following close behind.

"What happened to the robots?" I asked, my voice croaky. "And that dumb crystal...?" My voice cracked and I realized how incredibly thirsty I was. Mom got the look on my face and handed me a nearby Dixie cup.

"Two of your ribs are fractured and your left leg was nearly broken—"

"And you were electrocuted!" Ethan spoke up with an excited face. "Can I bring her to show-and-tell on Monday? _Please?_"

"Monday...?" I asked myself quietly. Then louder I asked, "How long have I been asleep?" Last thing I knew it had been Wednesday.

My mom took my hand and said, "It's only been three days. The doctor thought it would be much longer, but you seem to be healing faster than expected."

Well, that in itself was odd. Normally it took me forever to get over a single papercut, let alone getting _electrocuted. _Speaking of that, I couldn't even remember what had happened to make me get shocked in the first place. All I remembered was the Autobots showing up and a fighter jet flying above us...

Oh yeah! Then Optimus hit everyone and they fell and Megatron picked me up and I decided to use the fragment to stab him. But what _caused_ it to shock me...?

Apparently a totally spaced-out look came across my face because Mom reached up and brushed some hair out of my face before saying, "You're tired. C'mon, Ethan. Let's let Nikki get some sleep."

With that, Mom and my broher said goodbye for the night after making sure I didn't need them to stay. The door closed behind them and I picked up my cup of water, realizing something. Well, two somethings.

A) I didn't get and answer about what happened to the Autobots and Decepticons, and B) I could have sworn my hand had been cut when I stabbed Megatron. When I looked at my palm then, it seemed just as normal as it had before I went into the forest. No, I take it back. There was one, _minuscule_ line that hadn't been there before. As I began falling back asleep, it seemed to be tinted blue, glowing almost.

But that must have been the florescent lights...

...right?

End Part I

**Kay, so thoughts? Comment and let me know what you think. Ciao! **


	2. Chapter 2

**Okay, so far people seem to like this, so I'll go ahead and add the next chapter. My treat. Srsly. **

**And I still don't own Transformers. All that is mine is Nichole. And her mom. And her little brother, Ethan. And this chocolate chip cookie that I'm about to devour. **

**Part II**

The doctors thought I may have had some internal injuries as well as the fractured ribs, so they made me stay for a couple more nights. Let me tell you, it was _bor-ing_. All I could do was call my friends, and, when they got off their lazy butts, they visited. My mom would hang out for hours on end, even though she really had things to do.

"Mom, I'm seventeen. You don't have to watch me like a hawk. Besides, I thought you were in the middle of repainting the kitchen?" I stated one evening, taking a bite of the chicken sandwich she'd brought me.

"I know, I know. But how can I not be worried about my little girl? You may not know it, but Ethan's worried too."

That little pest was worried? About me? Wow. Someone pinch me, cuz that part _must_ have been a dream.

She stayed until about six, when Ethan would be getting home from his friend's house. We both knew he'd be dying for supper, complaining about how he was going to _starve_. I accompanied her until we were at the automatic front doors, where she gave me a big hug. I winced a little and she gasped.

"I did it again, didn't I? Oh, I'm so sorry, sweety," she apologized as I just shook my head, saying it was no problem. We chuckled a little bit, but I began to quiet down when she got a slightly less happy look on her face.

"What's wrong?" I asked, just a little bit uneasy. As if something were about to change.

"...Nichole? I know you told me not to blame them, but..." she began, hesitantly.

I knew where this was going. Earlier that week, she had finally decided to ask me what exactly happened out by the school. I'd explained it as I remembered it and she automatically felt as if the whole ordeal was the Autobots' fault. I mean, it kinda was for losing the crystal-thingy in the first place, but they were only trying to do good. I'm sure something bad would have happened if the Decepticons had gotten a hold of that Sparky fragment, or whatever they called it. I still was curious as to what went on after I was knocked out, but it wasn't as if they had a phone number that I knew of... But anyways! My mother was very easy to put the blame on the wrong people, er, robots.

"I just hope you won't start going around, joining more machine fights. It isn't your problem, okay honey?" she said, taking me into another hug, softer this time. "It's just so much more dangerous out there than when I was your age, a mother doesn't know what to do."

Well, when she was my age, I'm pretty sure there weren't a bunch of giant robots running around. I wanted to say that probably had something to do with the new danger factor, but I knew she needed to get going. Ethan would be whining as we spoke. We both said goodbye and she left, the doors automatically opening and closing behind her.

My room was on the third floor and, even though the elevator made it faster, the walk was long as heck. Not only do I not like hospitals because you usually wind up getting some sort of shot, I also don't like them because of how creepy they are at night. You know those long stretches of hallway where the lights are all out except one that's flickering? Yeah. I had to walk down, like, five of those. By _myself_. Let's just say that by the time I got to my room, I slammed the door closed behind me, and hopped onto my bed. Of course, I had to turn the tv on to lighten the creepiness.

For about three hours, I watched a movie marathon. Guess what the marathon's theme was? No seriously, guess.

Yeah. Giant robots.

Oh, the horrible irony of it all. Fate has a swell sense of humor, no?

Anyway... At around 9:00-ish I began feeling tired. My eyes started drooping during the middle of the second movie, while the two main characters were making out. You know, cuz they'll never see each other again and all that sappy stuff, then something amazing happens and they live happily ever after anyway. Don't people know none of that crap happens in real life?

I was fazing in and out of consciousness when a loud THUMP woke me. I looked around frantically, but then figured it must have been from one of the neighboring rooms. It was too dark to see anything anyway, even with the tv on.

I started falling asleep again after having turned the movie off and twisting onto my side. Oddly enough, the doctor had said it was _good_ to sleep on your fractured ribs. Not that I didn't like to sleep on my side anyways.

Another THUMP. This time I could tell which direction it was coming from, and it wasn't the neighbor's.

Eyes wide, I slipped out of bed, staring at the window curtains. I could barely see, because I'd left the bathroom light on and the door was cracked, but it was enough for me to creep across the room. Once I reached the curtains, another THUMP made my heart nearly stop as I jumped a little. My breathing was ragged, but, ever so slowly, I reached up, snagging the curtains and...

Let out a little scream, when I saw a large dark figure standing there. I could hear my heartbeat slow down though, when the dark figure turned out to be a very wobbley yellow Autobot with a little girl on his shoulder. They were too busy looking down and whispering angrily to notice my silent opening of the window.

"Bulkhead! Hold still before we wake the whole city up!" the yellow bot hissed.

"Sorry, but YOU need to hold still! This is pretty difficult when you're flailing around like that!" came a voice from below.

"I wouldn't have to flail if you'd—"

"Ahem."

The robot and the girl looked up and sheepish grins appeared on their faces. I just crossed my arms and gave them a "What the hell are you doing?" look. The girl hopped through my window, making me have to scoot back otherwise she'd have stepped on my toes.

"So _this_ is the girl that helped you guys?" she asked, scrunitizing me like I didn't measure up to her expectations. Brat... but familiar.

"Yeah, that's her," the bot said, taking hold of the window sill for balance.

"Okay, c'mon," the little girl said simply, then grabbed my hand and began to tug. I snatched it back just as quickly though.

"What the heck for? You guys don't think I've had enough of your robotic escapades?" I queried, backing up a little unconsciously. "I don't know about you, kid, but I'm not in the mood for a premature death."

"Fine," she said, turning back towards the window. "That's okay. Just wait for the Decepticons to come and capture you."

As she got ready to hop back out the window, I stopped her by stuttering out, "D-decepticons? Why would they come after me?"

The girl faced me again, flicking her pigtails slightly as she did. "You want to know? Then we'll explain it at our place."

That struck a memory and I remembered where I'd seen her before. "Wait... aren't you Sari Sumdac? That scientist's daughter?"

"Yep! The one and only. Now could you please hurry. We don't have all night."

"Jeez, bossy," I muttered, but then said louder, "Sorry, I wasn't prepared for giant alien life forms and an 8-year-old to come knocking on my window at 10:00 _pm_."

"It's only 9:30."

"Whatever."

I told her to hold on a second while I changed I in the bathroom, picking just the regular jeans, t-shirt, and hoodie that my mom brought over. This reminded me I'd have to leave a note of some sort before I left. I grabbed one of the totes with clothes and junk in it that I hadn't bothered with unpacking and slung it over my shoulder.

"What are you doing?" Sari asked as I scoured the room for a writing utensil.

"Looking for a pen. If I don't leave a note, my mom will have a spaz attack," I answered as I finally found one in a drawer. "And she'll probably call the Feds or something anyway..."

I took the complimentary St. John's Medical Center notepad and wrote:

_Dear Mom, _

_I'm sorry but it's become my problem. If I stay at the hospital other people than just me could be hurt. I've never been that great of a letter writer, but I hope that you'll understand. Don't call the cops or the Army, I'm not being kidnapped and I'll be okay. _

_Love, Nikki _

_PS Don't let Ethan in my room. He'll break my lava lamp again. _

"That should suffice..." I said, mostly to myself, putting it on the bed where someone would see it when they walked in.

"You finally ready?" little miss bossy asked as I walked over to her, bag in hand.

"Does it look like I'm ready?"

"No."

I frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Shoes?" she said, staring at my feet which I had just realized were bare. How the hell does a person manage to forget their shoes when they're standing on freezing cold hospital floors? A really smart one, _that's_ who.

We crawled out the window (after I put my shoes on, mind you) and the yellow robot jumped down from his friend's shoulders with us in tow. When he set us down, I recognized the green robot from the forestside.

The yellow one introduced himself first, then his friend, saying, "The name's Bumblebee. And this guy here is Bulkhead."

I nodded. "Nichole, but just call me Nikki." I paused, then added, "Where's this place of you guys' at? Because I'm tired and I want an explanation pretty _dang _soon."

The bots transformed to their vehicle modes and Sari hopped in Bumblebee's driver's seat while I hopped in the passenger's. It felt kind of awkward, and in knew it was wrong to think that way about a machine, but... I was _sitting_ on him. I mean, really?

"How far away is it?" I asked Sari.

"Across the city. It won't seem that long though."

Psh. Whatever, little girl. It felt like ten million _bloody_ years before we finally stopped. As soon as we did, I jumped out like the vehicle was on fire. I knew Sari was looking at me kind of funny, but I did not care, nor did I have the patience to right then.

The Autobots transformed and we walked up to what looked like an abandoned warehouse. The giant garage door opened and we slipped underneath into one of the weirdest living rooms I've ever seen. It consisted mostly of open space, but there was a gigantic couch and a _huge_ flatscreen tv, and some other machinery around the room that made me think the place used to be a plant. I gotta say, the couch didn't look too comfy though. Almost as if it were made out of, oh I don't know... _rock?_ Yet, the game console I spotted beneath the tv totally made up for that.

Three other robots — Optimus Prime, the ambulance, and the motorcycle guy — all stepped in about then and I yawned. Yes, my greeting was a yawn because I was getting sleepier every second and quite frankly, didn't give a crap. Well, I did care, but tiredness was making me pissy, and not to mention my ribs were still sore.

"Alright then, 'splain to me why the baddies want me. Pleasn' thanks," I said, mostly mumbling. I continued mumbling but even _I_ don't remember what I was saying, because I was so tired.

The robots looked at me weird and Sari sighed.

"She's just sleepy is all," she said, knowing full-well the symptoms of tired-ass syndrome.

I yawned again, plopping down cross-legged on the floor where I had been standing.

"How about we do this tomorrow?" Optimus suggested. "It is pretty late."

"Late?" Sari and Bumblebee both said, with incredulous looks, the bot then saying, "But we still haven't played Halo for four hours straight!"

I was totally out of it by that part of the conversation, but I do vaguely remember them talking about where I would sleep. Someone picked me up off the concrete and I raised one eyelid to see black and gold before I was out like a light.

Coming out of unconsciousness, I knew I'd had the weirdest dream _ever_. I mean, giant robots and scientist's daughters knocking on my hospital window? Right. When pigs flew out of my brother's butt.

Which I began feeling really bad for Ethan when I opened my eyes. SO not a hospital room. I sat up and looked at the pink blankets I was previously wrapped like a burrito in. Definitely not a hospital bed. I started getting the odd idea that last night's dream, wasn't just a dream after all.

The room looked like apink monster threw up on it. There were stuffed animals a-plenty, a bedside table with a lamp and an orange cell phone sitting on it, and when I looked down, a whole other mess of blankets and pillows. Bundled up on the floor was none other than Sari Sumdac, daughter of Isaac Sumdac.

It was about then that I began wondering what she was doing with the Autobots. I found out— quite personally —that it was dangerous, so why the heck was an 8-year-old with them? _I_ was seventeen and _I_ almost got offed.

My stomach growled rather abruptly, waking me from my thoughts. I peered around the room before prancing over to my bag on the far wall, and dragged out a bag of Doritos.

"Thank you, _Mommy_, I said, to no one in particular, ripping it open. In no time flat, my hands were covered with delicious nacho cheese.

After I downed half the bag (yeah, I can be a bit of a pig, okay?), I decided to go explore. It seemed pretty early, but I didn't bother with checking my watch, mostly because the battery had died as soon as I'd put it on the night before. Yeah, yeah, then why wear it, right? 'Cuz I wanted to, _that's_ why.

The place was pretty big, even for a warehouse. I suppose that's why they'd chosen it, though. Well, they _were_ giant robots. They couldn't exactly live under bridges like hobos, now could they?

Most of the rooms were empty. One I peeked in had medical equipment and I figured that one must have belonged to the ambulance. Another one I came across had more of a speed-demon theme, and it automatically struck me as Bumblebee's kind of thing (considering he'd almost turned me into road-kill.)

Curiousity was slowly getting the better of me when I looked in the next room. An awed expression came across my face when I saw, standing in the middle of a building, the _perfect_ climbing tree. There was a big hole in the ceiling of the room for the top to stick out and the wind rustled the higher branches. Its shape reminded me of one of those little Bonsai trees, and I knew that I couldn't resist.

Grabbing hold of knotholes and crevices, I heaved myself up. Sure my ribs hurt, but tree climbing was one of my favorite things to do in the entire _world_. It'd been weeks (besides that little forest scuffle) since I'd been able to relax in the branches of a natural wooden giant.

I pulled myself onto one of the bigger branches and assumed a laying down position, ankles crossed. I wasn't quite to the ceiling level, but I could still feel the breeze, and man, it was _amazing. _The clouds passed by overhead, relaxing me even further.

About then, I noticed that throughout my exploring, not a single bot was in the building. I wondered why that was before realizing they must have been off saving the city again. Every five seconds, there was some other disaster going on in Detroit, whether it was from outer-space or just some stupid criminal. And while they were out being heroic, I was sitting there, contemplating the Decepticons' reason for wanting to capture me. Of course, Megatron would probably be a little pissed about me jabbing a crystal in his hand, but hey. I was a little pissed about him almost crushing me to death.

I glanced over the horizontal scar on my palm, thoughtful. It _had_ actually been tinted blue, and it had not just been the florescent hospital lights. I knew that much. What I didn't know was why a gash like that healed so quickly in only three days. I should have still had a scab of some sort, at least...

I must have dozed off for a short while, because the sun was slightly lower when I reopened my eyes. I could also hear the voices of Optimus, Sari, and Bulkhead coming from the main room. My name was mentioned a couple times and I eventually got the gist that they were looking for me. I sat up at about the same time that Bumblebee's yellow form appeared in the doorway, glancing around the room, probably for me. I opened my mouth to tell him where I was and...

"Found her," a voice announced, way too close, startling the crap out of me. I snapped around to see the black and gold Autobot hanging upside down beside me. Who the hell did he think he was? Freakin' _Spiderman?_

I opened my mouth to chew him out for scaring me, when my supporting hand slipped, and air whooshed past me. _'Falling out of a tree, yet AGAIN!' _I thought, closing my eyes. The whooshing air didn't last long though, because something caught the back of my hoodie's collar before I could go any farther. I looked up to see the black and gold bot holding it with ease.

"Nice catch, Prowl!" Bumblebee exclaimed, stepping over to the base of the tree. The robot, who I now knew was Prowl, jumped down with a weird twisty-summer-sault move, taking me with him. If I didn't want to cuss him out before hand for making me fall, then I sure as hell did then for making me dizzy.

"Can you not jump like a normal person?" I growled, fixing my hoodie. "And don't sneak up on me like that! As if I'm not edgy enough, what with the whole 'Decepticons are afer me' bit." I then paused, remembering why I was there in the first place. "Which reminds me... Why is that?"

"We were going to explain as soon as we got home... Until you turned up missing, that is," Prowl said, with a look of slight agitation.

"Yeah," Bumblebee joined in, then asked, "What were you doin in Prowl's room anyway?"

I stopped. "This is...? Oh..." Looking around, noticing stuff _other_ than the awesome tree, I then felt kind of stupid. I mean, I know I hated it when people went into _my_ room, so I thought an apology was necessary. (Even if he _had_ scared me.)

"Sorry 'bout that," I said. "I just saw the tree and absolutely had to climb it."

Prowl just shrugged. "No harm done."

By that point, the other Autobots had joined us in Prowl's room, noticing I'd been found. Sari jumped in last, with an odd look of triumph.

"There she is," she said, as though she'd found me herself, causing me to roll my eyes, but smirk a little nonetheless.

"Yes, great job, Sari. You've discovered my mysterious whereabouts." I tried drowning it in as much sarcasm as I could, obviously, but there were more important things. Automatically, my mood switched and I asked, "So, is anyone gonna explain what's so important?"

Really, if I had known what was going on, I don't think I would have asked. I would have... Well, I'm not sure, but I probably would have left long before the conversation started. I would have turned-tail and ran right out those warehouse doors. But it was too late to do any of that, even if I _had_ known.

"Ratchet, this is more your kind of thing," Optimus said, looking at the ambulance bot.

Ratchet looked thoughtful for a moment, deciding how to word something. I waited, surprisingly patient for all my complaining. I took the time to naw off a hang-nail that had been bugging me for a while, when he began to speak.

"There are many things that our kind still don't know about the AllSpark," he began. "What you had was only a fragment, but it still had some of the same powers as the whole. Now, to say we know _exactly_ what happened would be an outright lie, because organic blood has never come in direct contact with AllSpark energy before."

Okey, dokey. So far I'd gathered something about blood and a thing called the AllSpark. I nodded, slowly processing what he was saying, though not quite understanding where he was going yet.

"When you stabbed the AllSpark fragment into Megatron's hand... Well, normally the energy wouldn't have affected a human, but when your body was flowing with electricity from Megatron's spark, it mistook you for a machine. The fragment's energy traveled to both of you, and the result was Spark Fusion."

My face remained blank. "And that is...?" Really. It wasn't as if Earth had a robo-dictionary.

Optimus decided to take up the next explanation, giving Ratchet a break from talking. "Spark Fusion is an occurrence that's only happened a couple times in Cybertronian history, and is an extremely unstable process. It's hard to explain, but in simplified terms, whatever happens to one participant of the fusion happens to the other."

I blinked once... twice... three times...

"What... the _hell_ are you saying?" I said, understanding perfectly well. "So like... now if Megatron gets shot in the foot then _I_ get shot in the foot? Or if he _DIES?"_ I kept opening and closing my mouth, trying to think of something to say. I mean, what _do_ you say to something like that? Oh goodie?

Optimus just nodded as I continued my little panic attack. My vision was doing that weird thing where the sparkles appear in your periphial, and my breathing was kind of uneven.

"H-how do you know for sure...?" I asked, trying to convince myself otherwise. "Could it have _not_ done the fusion? Maybe... possibly..." I leaned back until I felt the tree trunk, then slid down to sit on one of the jutting roots. I ran my fingers through my hair, in an attempt to calm myself, and I began to think out loud. "It's not so bad, right? Not the complete end of the world...?" I looked up, at the Autobots, realizing something else. "And the Decepticons want me because..." I didn't finish the sentence, but Prowl did.

"Because whatever happens to you, happens to their leader. We aren't sure if they know yet, but it's only a matter of time."

"That's why we had to get you _first,"_ Sari, who was being surprisingly quiet, spoke up.

As she said that, something came across my mind that hadn't before, and I asked, "This guy's your enemy, right? So why are you helping instead of shooting me on the spot?" Not that I wanted them to, but it just made a whole lot more sense.

"Autobots are meant to _protect_ organic life, not destroy it," Optimus answered, as if the idea had been an insult.

Right as I was about to say something else, a loud gurgling sound interupted, and I was surprised to find it had been my stomach. Guess those chips didn't last too long. I stood up, a little calmer than before, and suggested we drop by McDonald's, figuring Sari might be a bit hungry too. As we were walking to the front garage door, though, she brought up something.

"Do you have any money?"

What _WAS_ it with this kid and catching me at being an idiot? Did she have idiot-_radar?_ I made an extremely frowny face as I stomped back to Sari's room, snatched my wallet out of my bag, and _THEN_ we left for the golden arches.

**END PART II**

**Likey, yes/no? Reviews are an authoress' best friend! **


	3. Chapter 3

**Just got my compy back from the shop, so YAY. And for all my dear readers, here is the next part of _Fused. _**

**I do not own Transformers Animated. Just Nichole. **

**Part III**

"So, what exactly happened after I went unconscious?" I asked, shoving another french fry in my mouth. Ahh, yes. Delicious, un-needed greasy fats, saturating chemically unbalanced potato slices. MY one true pairing.

We were all sitting in the rec room, watching some program about pandas — Prowl insisted he _couldn't_ miss it — when I decided to ask what I'd been meaning to for a while.

"We kicked tailpipe, that's what!" Bumblebee said, then paused as the others looked at him. "Uhh... with your help of course."

Optimus sighed at his friend. "Without Nichole's help, I would be a pile of scrap-metal. I believe we all would have." He then turned to me, to actually answer my question. "By the time you were knocked unconscious, the Spark Fusion had already taken effect."

"Meaning Megatron was in for a nice, long stasis nap," Bulkhead said, taking a drink of oil. Yeah, they drank oil. How weird was that? But then again, I don't suppose it was all that weird, considering they were robots.

"That jet you saw was Blitzwing, another one of the Decepticon lackies," Ratchet said. "About as crazy as they come, and dangerous to boot."

Optimus continued then. "Had Megatron still been awake, there's no way we could have taken both of them. Because of you, Blitzwing had no choice but to take his leader and flee. We were going to chase after them, but then we realized how badly wounded you were and had to take you to one of those... organic healing facilities."

"You mean a hospital?"

"Oh, yes. That's what they're called."

Their lack of Earth knowledge made me laugh slightly, my ribs yelling for me to stop, and I did. I was healing fast, but not THAT fast. I frowned a little, between the fractures and something else.

"Who wound up with the AllSpark fragment?"

They kind of looked at each other a minute, with that who's-gonna-say-it expression, and I didn't like the vibe.

"Don't tell me the Decepticons got it?"

"No, no," Ratchet said. "It's just... we think that there's _another_ reason why they might be after you, besides the Spark Fusion."

The bots looked at Sari, who hoppeed off of the arm of the couch and waltzed over to me. She reached up to this electronic key hanging around her neck and held it out a short ways from where I was sitting. My eyes widened when the key glowed blue and a beam of the light shot towards me. Immediately, I looked at the line on my palm and, I shit you not, it was glowing like crazy. I could see where my veins were glowing, underneath my skin, and I pulled back my hoodie sleeve to reveal that it traveled all the way up my arm. I continued to sit there, gaping at it, until she put the key down.

"You're giving off AllSpark energy," she said. "How do you think we found your window at the hospital?"

Well, color me fucked. As if things weren't bad enough, they pile this on me, too? The look on my face very clearly said, "Give me an explanation as to why I was just GLOWING," and Optimus picked up on it.

"We believe the fragment dissolved into your bloodstream somehow during the fusion, or at least part way. Megatron absorbed the other part — which is another reason they would have been too strong for us."

"How the _hell_ did it dissolve? It was as hard as a freakin' diamond!" I said, totally at a loss.

Ratchet shrugged. "Just another secret of the AllSpark that has yet to be solved."

"Thanks. _That's_ helpful." I started chowing down on my burger, a little frustrated at ll the crap that had been going down. That, combined with a lack of answers, was making it worse. I stared at the electronic key around Sari's neck for a moment before asking, "So what exactly's up with that thing?"

"When we first met Sari," Optimus said, "for some reason the AllSpark infused her key with some of its energy."

"You guys keep saying _the_ AllSpark, and then you'll say AllSpark _fragments_. Did it like, break or something?"

"More like, exploded into a thousand tiny pieces that we have to find before the Decepticons," Bumblebee said in what I figured was a shortened version.

"Or else...?"

"Or else, they'll become unstoppable," Prowl finished.

I think my eye twitched about then. "How unstoppable?"

"Take over the universe unstoppable," Bumblebee answered, hopping over to the flatscreen. "Is this show almost over yet? Sari and me were gonna have a rematch of Blaster Battles II."

"It's a five hour long special."

"F-five _hours? _I can't wait FIVE HOURS to play video games!" Bee cried, flailing his arms. Was he seriously going through video game withdrawl? Yeah, I loved video games too, but c'mon.

"Dude, there's plenty of other stuff to do besides play video games," I said. "Especially Blaster Battles II. The first one was good, but the second one sucked majorly."

Bumblebee and Sari looked at me like I had just punched them in the faces. Guess they didn't like their video games gettin' dissed.

"How could you NOT like it?" they both asked with these puppy expressions. Then Bumblebee said, "But it has explosions and... more explosions!"

I laughed (but still aware of my _freaking_ ribs) and told them, "But the plot stinks. It's basically non-existent. A game like that either needs a better storyline or no storyline at all, preferably the latter."

And that started the biggest video game dispute I have EVER had in my LIFE. Plots, graphics, glitches, sequals, characters, and anything else you could think of, we argued or agreed on. How long had they been on Earth and Bumblebee had played nearly every game I could think of? There was something severely wrong with that. Not to mention the fact that Sari had played games like Grand Theft Auto.

"I don't think you should play stuff like that," I said. Ethan was ten and Mom _still_ wouldn't let him. "It's a bad influence, even for kids MY age. Plus, there's really no point to it."

Sari made a face. "What are you? My _mom?_"

I shrugged, not wanting to turn it into an actual fight. "Just my opinion. Do what you want, it doesn't matter to me." But really. An 8-year-old playing Grand Theft Auto? When her friends were giant robots who stopped crime and changed into vehicles themselves? There was an irony in there somewhere...

"How old are you anyway?" she asked.

"Seventeen."

Her eyes got a little bigger. "Really? You're awfully short for a 17 year old."

I gave her a 'Thank you, Captain obvious' look, before finishing the rest of my burger. I've never really liked kids that much, mostly because they always whined too much or wouldn't stop messing with my stuff. But I _really _didn't like it when an 8-year-old told me that _I_ was short.

I stared at the tv, not really out of interest, but just for something to do while I sipped on my coke. Not that I didn't like pandas! They're freaking adorable. Which was exactly what I was thinking when one of the cubs on tv tumbled on to its side, playfully taunting the mother. Both me and Sari mad an "Aww..." sound at its little squeaks. Okay. Maybe she wasn't _too_ bad. For a kid.

By the end of the program, I seriously thought poor Bumblebee was going to have a stroke of sheer happiness. Optimus, Bulkhead, and Ratchet had long since left to do something else, so they missed his little episode.

"Yes! _Finally!_" Bee shouted, starting the game before Prowl even stood up. When he did though, I saw a slight smirk on his face.

"Bumblebee," he said, "Just so you know, we have another television."

The yellow bot froze and turned to face him with an appalled expression. "S-since WHEN?"

"Since the others decided we needed another."

"You mean to tell me that this _entire time _we could have been playing? _And you didn't say anything?" _

Okay guys, if you had seen Bumblebee's face, you would have cracked up too. Total Kodak moment. Especially when Bee started chasing Prowl all throught the base. I thought Sari was going to bust a gut she was laughing so hard. Heck, coke almost shot out of my nose! Our fit of laughter finally ended when Prowl disappeared like the ninja-bot he was, Bumblebee still puffing when he came back to the rec room.

I laughed a little more before asking, "You guys have an extra controller?" If I was gonna be stuck here, might as well enjoy it.

"Yeah," Bee said. "We got a lot, just in case."

I wound up getting served by a robot from outer space and a little kid. How pathetic can you get?

There was a static-type noise and Bumblebee paused, right as I was about to finally win. He put his hand on his head, as if he were listening to a walkie-talky, and began talking to what I thought was himself. But when he said, "Got it, Boss-bot," I figured they had some sort of built-in communication link, and he had been talking to Optimus.

"NanoSec's escaped from prison again," he said, transformering to car mode. Sari automatically hopped in, but when I made a move to, Bumblebee kept the door tightly shut, saying, "Nuh-uh. Optimus said it'd be better for you to stay here because you're still not fully healed."

I growled slightly, but relinquished my hold on the handle. In no time, they'd already pealed out of the garage door as it shut behind them. I mad another angry sound, just to appease myself, before going to Sari's room.

I rummaged through my bag until there was nothing else to look at in it besides lint. I had my DS but didn't feel like playing anymore video games, and my MP3 player's batteries were low. Man, if only I had a computer...

And behold, my unobservantness would never end. Sitting in the coners of the girl's room was a computer (a pretty fancy one at that) and I immediately logged onto IM. Of course, my best friend Emma was on there and she instantly jumped on me.

melikescake: OMFG! is that u?

Nikiole32: yes.

melikescake: whats my fav color and animal?

Nikiole32: Red. Squirrel.

There was a long pause in which the status said she was typing (and probably having a heart attack.)

melikescake: where the FK hav u been? Ur moms worried sick about u! srprised she hasnt called the fbi or somthing.

Nikiole32: its hard to explain. U kno that fire we had at school the other day?

melikescake: duh. & u told me about the bots and the crystal and I thought u were crazy.

Nikiole32: yeah. thanx btw. Well the evil bots want the crystal thing except it kinda fused with me or some shit like that. Whtevr happens 2 the leader of the bad guys happens 2 me & vice versa. I hav 2 stay with the good guys 4 now.

melikescake: no really. Where the fuck r u?

Nikiole32: ...

melikescake: holysht. Ur serious arent u?

Nikiole32: don't tell my mom. She already hates the autobots as it is.

melikescake: she has a right to know!

Nikiole32: plz! She'll make me come home and that might put her and ethan in danger!

There was another long pause in which I almost regretted telling her what was going on. She pulled through, though, in the end.

melikescake: u owe me big.

Nikiole32: yes. And when this is all over I'll buy u the biggest chocolate thank-you cake in the world.

melikescake: lol. Just be careful ok? I'd feel really bad if u wound up dying becuz I didnt tell anyone.

Nikiole32: alright officer. I'll drive safely.

melikescake: I is dead serious! *glares*

Nikiole32: ok ok. its not like u need to worry 2 much. They wouldnt even let me go with them wallago cuz my injuries werent "fully healed".

melikescake: good. House arrest would be gr8 for someone like u.

Nikiole32: ha ha ha. Not fair either way.

melikescake: moms calling 4 dinner. gtg.

Nikiole32: ok. I'll try to talk again soon.

melikescake: cool. bye bye! *hugs eternally*

Nikiole32: *hugs back* c you!

With that, she logged off, with me following suite. It made me a little sad that she had to go so soon. I'd wanted to ask what our other friends at school were talking about, or if her sister had already gotten that tatoo she wanted. But I knew Emma's mom. If her daughters don't go when she calls them the first time, then she'll come up to get them, and might accidentally see the computer screen. I was sure my mom had already phoned my friends' parents, so Emma's mom most likely knew I was missing. It'd be kinda bad for her to see my screen name when I was totally AWAL.

I sighed, wondering how long I would have to be so secretive about my ordeal. I didn't even remember them saying there was a way to _reverse_ Spark Fusion either. It made me think. Would I have to hide from the Decepticons for the rest of my life? Would I constantly have to live in fear of the ones I loved being hurt?

"It's not fair," I groaned, throwing my head back in the computer chair. "_Why_ did I have to chase that _stupid_ rabbit?" I would have rather wound up in Wonderland than deal with this crap...

I began falling asleep, staring at the ceiling, (I tend to fall asleep every five minutes, okay?) muttering angry profanities about Decepticons. I started having those halfway asleep, halfway awake dreams, except... they were really weird. More real than any dream I'd ever had before that, and almost like it didn't already happen, but as if it were in _happening that instant... _

"_Spark Fusion? But zat's nearly impossible!" a robot with a very Germane accent said. _

"_A human is not WORTHY of being Lord Megatron's fusion partner," a lower, more grumbly voice spoke. Both bots had glowing red optics, marking them as Decepticons. The room was dim, with computers and other machinery illuminating the area. I felt the annoyance of whoever's eyes I was seeing through. The annoyance of being connected to a weak and fragile human... _

"_Find her using the Spark signature. It will only remain visible on your radar for a while longer." _

_Megatron. I was seeing through _Megatron's_ eyes. At first I thought he was speaking to the two bots in the room, but then he turned to a huge computer screen. On it, a Con, with a black and white face and spikes on his shoulders and neck, looked at him with suspicious red optics. _

"_I don't normally get requests on organics. Not enough of a challenge really... But it all depends on what the pay is." _

_Megatron didn't hesitate, knowing how to deal with it. "Double the bounty on Starscream. And there's no doubt those Autobots will try and defend her," he said. _

"_Double? Slag, this human must be pretty important," the robot on the screen said, optics wider than before. "That's my kind of job." _

_As the screen was about to be turned off, Megatron said, "And I want her unharmed, or I _will_ know. Do you understand, Lockdown?" _

_The bot nodded, a smirk on his face, and... _

"...cole! ...ichole! ...Nichole! Nikki, wake up!"

I shot up out of the computer chair nearly stepping on Sari who'd been shaking my arm. My eyes flitted around the room, making sure I was still at the warehouse. For once, pink didn't bug me at all.

"You sleep a lot, don't you?" she asked, but I didn't really notice. I knew, I _knew_ it had to have been more than a dream. I could just... I don't know! _Feel_ it!

Sari noticed my insane fidgeting, and tilted her head a little. "Are you okay? You look like you're about to have a heart attack."

I looked down at her finally, taking her by the shoulders. "Do you know where the others are? I have to talk to them right away." Maybe one of them would know what the _hell_ just happened.

"Last time I saw 'em, they were in the rec room. We just now got back," she said. I could tell from her expression that she knew something was wrong.

She followed behind me as I dashed to where the Autobots were. Optimus, Bulkhead, and Bumblebee turned to give a brief hello, but stopped when they saw my panicked expression.

"Th-the Spark Fusion. What kind of side-effects does it have?" I stammered out, unsure of how to word my question. "Like... out-of-body dreams?" Could robots even really sleep?

From their blank expressions, I could tell that they had no idea what dreams were. So, instead I asked, "Who's Lockdown?"

They glanced at each other, then Ratchet said, "He's a bounty hunter from Cybertron."

I let ou a rather loud "_Shit!_", simultaneously stomping my foot against the ground. "So it wasn't just a dream! Awfuckfuckfuck..." I growled, putting my hands on my face and letting them slide down.

By now I was getting some very strange looks, especially from Sari, who's eyes were slightly wider from all my cussing. Dang it! And I was the one who complained about Grand Theft Auto being a bad influence!

"Cool your jets," Bumblebee said worriedly. "I'm not even sure what you're saying!"

"Could you explain to us what's wrong?" Optimus said. "And how do you know about Lockdown?"

"I... I had a dream— it's when people fall asleep and see things, kind of like movies— but this one was different. It was as if— I don't know! I was seeing what Megatron was seeing! And he was talking to a robot on a screen. They called him Lockdown and... I think he's coming to find me."

**End Part III**

**Thank you for your patience. It means a lot to me. BUT SO DO REVIEWS! LoL. No. Seriously. **


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